The Personal & Professional in Business Networking

Another question I was asked in my webcast last week on 'How to Effectively Combine Offline & Online Networking'was whether I made a distinction between personal & professional networks in the information I share.

My answer was along the lines that people buy people so it is important to share personal information in both business and personal networking.

I enjoyed reading supporting evidence on this issue in Graham Jones' blog post yesterday about the information you share on your website. In 'Find connections to increase your sales' Graham suggests "the more personal information you reveal, the more likely it is you will connect with your customers".

He goes on to say "As if we didn't know, people buy from people... start telling the world even more about yourself so they can start to truly connect with you".

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Are online relationships more short term?

I was asked a number of questions in my webcast last week on 'How to Effectively Combine Offline & Online Networking'. One viewer said "It's more important to meet people offline and spend more time, this makes a relationship long term. Online relationships are more short term. Your views please?"

I have built long term relationships from connections I have made online. I have subsequently met many of these people so the relationships are now both online & offline. There are some I have never met because they are in countries I have not visited. This has not stopped us providing support, knowledge and contacts to each other.

I think the real answer is that most people make more offline connections than online ones and a smaller proportion of those online ones develop into real relationships. I wrote briefly about this in 'Quality versus quantity in Business Networking' yesterday.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Quality versus quantity in Business Networking

At a recent seminar on how to effectively combine online and offline networking someone said that he wanted to build a 'quality' network rather than have lots of connections like many people he sees online. I think most people would agree that quality is important. The continuing debate is around how you get there.

In offline groups you can build these quality connections from a relatively small group of people. Much of the filtering process has already been done. It's different online in that you will have quality interactions with a smaller percentage of the people you 'connect' with. In both cases quality is a result of quantity.

To be effective offline and online is is still about building relationships.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Dominating your niche through Business Networking

One of the temptations in business networking is to speak about your business in very general terms in case you miss a possible opportunity. The problem with this approach is that everyone misses the specific opportunities they could refer you to. Presenting your business in terms of the specific things you do for a defined target market produces much better results.

Last week Chris Bose explained how the Internet works in a seminar before the NRG London City Business Networking Group Lunch. The seminar was called, 'Dominate your online niche to survive and prosper'.

Chris demonstrated real expertise by explaining in simple terms how you can get well qualified web traffic through the search engines by presenting content that specifically answers the things your potential clients are asking. It is much better to get the 100 real prospects for your business than 100,000 who may or may not be interested. You can find out about real google searches with their free tool at www.google.com/sktool.

The same applies in business networking. Talk about the specific issues that your target market have, where they are and what they will be saying about their problems. There are two simple ways to establish what questions they are asking. You can use the same free google tool and you can ask them!

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

How to Effectively Combine Offline & Online Networking

I presented this webinar on brightTALK yesterday. You can watch the recording below.


Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Networking has never been more important

Yesterday I answered the question from small business marketing expert Rod Sloane, "Is Networking still relevant in 2009?". The answer I gave was based on my own experience so it was nice to find some supporting evidence from Neilsen's Global Online Consumer Survey. They found that ninety percent of the 25,000 consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know. The following table summarises their findings:



Building positive word of mouth has, indeed, never been more important.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Is networking still relevant?

On Monday evening this week I gave a quick interview to Rod Sloane before his talk on 'How to Barack Obama Your Business'. Rod asked me if networking was still relevant in today's Social Media World.

I replied that, in this world of huge choice, networking is more important than ever. Faced with thousands of possible suppliers on the Internet we rely on the recommendation of a trusted friend more than ever.

Rod used his iPhone to record the interview and then uploaded it from his iPhone. Listen to the audioboo interview here.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

What business are you really in?

How many potential profitable business relationships do you leave behind you in your business networking without fully exploring the possibilities. The way you ask and answer questions determines the quality of the initial conversations you have and the connections you will make.

Many of the people I meet networking will give their business category when asked "What do you do?". They will say "I am a solicitor or accountant or business coach or web designer or marketing consultant or insurance broker or financial adviser or whatever their line of business is. This often means little or does not interest & engage the person who asked the question.

In an excellent talk from Rod Sloane yesterday on how to sell more products and services he reminded us of the question that Theodore Levitt asked Corporate America nearly 50 years ago. He asked what business are you really in. At the time the US Railroad companies answered Railroads rather than transport and subsequently lost out to the car industry. He argued that to to succeed your business must not focus on selling, but on providing solutions to your customers. If you focus solely on your industry your product may become obsolete, but if you focus on your customers you can adapt to changing needs. Ground breaking ideas and insights in the early 1960s and still good advice today.

So next time someone asks what you do answer with what your customers really buy from you. If you don't know that then ask a few of them.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

How to Barack Obama your Business

Tonight I am attending an event where guest speaker Rod Sloane will be talking about 'How to Barack Obama your Business - a special evening programme for business owners who want to sell more products and services'. Rod first used this great headline after the US Presidential elections. It captured the imagination because of Barack Obama's great marketing and is in language that the audience can immediately understand. The sub heading addresses his target market and the problem they have.

If you struggle to get your message across think about presenting your business in the language of your clients. What is your equivalent to 'How to Barack Obama your Business' and 'business owners who want to sell more products and services'?

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Entrepreneurship At Any Age - So What?

Does age matter if you are an entrepreneur? The answer is "no" according to 18 year old Houston based entrepreneur, Keith J Davis. He makes his debut as a book author with "Young? So What!" (K. Jerrold Publishing, U.S. $15.00).

He lists 10 steps to becoming a successful entrepreneur. He shares that the common question is "What can an 18 year old tell me about achieving success?" ReShonda Tate Billingsley, a national best selling author answers. "I recommend 'Young? So What!' to anyone looking for greater clarity on how to achieve success as an entrepreneur or in life period."

Davis' top ten list begins with having the right mindset. He credits his parents for leading him in the direction that helped him develop his mindset. "They instilled in me that there are no excuses for not attaining your life goals and no certain age for when a person should begin to leave a mark in the world."

Though Davis has targeted sharing his message with other kids his own age, he has a message for us baby boomer entrepreneurs as well. "Over 50" So What?"

You can find more about Keith Davis at http://www.keithjdavisjr.com/index.html

Shallie Bey
Follow me on Twitter

Track back http://www.cnbc.com/id/31852748